BCE (NYSE:BCE) Cut to “Hold” at National Bank Financial

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was downgraded by National Bank Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks.com reports. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2024 earnings at $2.21 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BCE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $34.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.75 and a 200 day moving average of $33.76. BCE has a 12 month low of $31.13 and a 12 month high of $41.77.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in BCE by 3,480.0% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the second quarter worth about $76,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BCE

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.